Day 26: Live at the Pershing: But Not for Me- Ahmad Jamal Trio
An Essential Record
Note: This post is part of a series where I listen to an album each day in December. Past posts can be found on my substack. Any hyperlinked songs go to Spotify links, Youtube links can be found at the end of the post.
Suggesting albums and artists to a listener who is interested in exploring jazz is a daunting task. Every jazz fan has their philosophy of where to start. Some insist on Miles Davis or Duke Ellington. Others on Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, or Billie Holiday. I’ve found that the many philosophies newbies are met with are either condensing, overly academic, or way too personal. Jazz fans are passionate and very opinionated when it comes to their music, and when the landscape is so vast it can be hard to figure out the “right place” to start. In my opinion, there is no right place. The right place is whatever music moves you, and if you’re a listener with genuine curiosity, you’ll branch out and explore other things that speak to your taste.
I’ve been asked by a few friends over the years to make recommendations, and as one of the resident jazz friends to my classmates, it has always been a great honor. Usually, I start with what pulled me in, that was the music of Charles Mingus. His music offers a liveliness that often contradicts what is contemporarily assumed about jazz. A crucial step in my recommendation process is to disrupt stereotypical assumptions that hold people back, but sometimes it is valuable to lean into the assumptions and present listeners with what they’re expecting to hear in terms of tempo, instrumentation, or style. Leaning into those pre-existing biases but presenting something more sophisticated is also a disruption of the stereotype and Ahmad Jamal’s At The Pershing: But Not For Me is a wonderful album to recommend.
The album was recorded on January 16, 1958, live at the Pershing Lounge of the Pershing Hotel in Chicago. Jamal’s trio of Israel Crosby (bass) and Vernel Fournier (drums) worked at the Pershing several times over 6 years and decided to record their next album there. In total 43 tracks were recorded and Jamal selected 8 for the LP.
has a detailed and thoughtful post analyzing each track, which he posted shortly after Jamal’s passing at the beginning of this year. I highly recommend reading it.
What stays with me after revisiting this record today is Jamal’s simplistic style. Simple tends to have a negative connotation, and that is not what I am getting at. Jamal can craft a story and balanced conversation with his trio through the simplicity of his approach. This is precisely why I like recommending this album to friends when they’re exploring the overwhelming world of jazz. It is easy to follow, but not a dumbing down of the genre. Jamal is one of the master pianists of this great music, and his simplicity is proof of the intentionality many people struggle to hear in their first exposures to jazz. This album, and much of Jamal’s discography, is a demonstration of how to use space and let music breathe deeply. Jamal is a master of dynamics and that aspect of musical storytelling also grabs listeners.
This record features one of the pianist’s staple tunes “Poinciana.” One of the greatest treats of my life was seeing Jamal live on a rare East Coast tour stop. This was back in the spring of 2019 and I was still a jazz novice. Luckily Jamal’s music wasn’t foreign to me, as he is my father’s favorite pianist (at least since I last checked), and though I may not have known every one of his recordings, it did dawn on me how important it was to be in the same room as him. I may or may not have bootlegged the entire hour and a half long performance on my iPhone 6, but if I did I could tell you that his performance of “Poinciana” began at 1:13:39 to thunderous applause. He joked “Now here’s the one that pays the bills.” 60 years later, Jamal was still performing the most popular track from the Pershing and when I think back to that evening, I remember quite literally sitting at the edge of my seat and leaning on the balcony railing as I watched in awe. Jamal was still effortlessly cool, smooth, and thoughtfully simplistic.
If you need a quick listen that will forever be timeless, spend half an hour with this record. I’m sure it will inspire you to look into the rest of Jamal’s discography.
Until Tomorrow,
Emily
Listen to Live at the Pershing: But Not for Me on YouTube